Moab City Council approves planning fee update 4-1, buys Whites Canyon drainage easement

The Moab City Council approved a package of updated planning and zoning fees (Ordinance 2026-20) on a 4-1 vote on Oct. 27, after first voting down a motion to table it. Councilmember Kaitlin Myers cast the lone no vote on the fees, saying she had too many questions about the proposal as written after earlier raising its cost for affordable housing projects ^[1][3].

City staff said the update moves fees closer to the true cost of service. Mayor Joette Langianese said it was brought separately from the city's other master fee changes because it focuses on planning and zoning. Under the proposal, site plan review would be charged at $75 per 1,000 square feet of reviewable area, up from $50 per 1,000 square feet of building floor area. The definition of reviewable area would also count items such as landscaping and outdoor patios. Projects that go to the Planning Commission would pay an added $200 fee. The ordinance also creates a development agreement fee and splits floodplain and grading permits into two levels, so that small projects are not burdened by high costs ^[1][3].

Myers moved to table the ordinance so the council could first review how applicants can appeal or ask for relief from resubmittal fees. She said that for one affordable housing project, the new fees would be almost double what was charged, and that resubmittals are sometimes not the developer's fault. City Manager Michael Black said the fees come nowhere close to covering the planning department's costs, which are still subsidized by the general fund. The tabling motion failed 1-4. The council then approved the fee schedule and directed staff to review the appeal process and report back by the council's first regular meeting in January ^[1][3].

The council voted 5-0 to buy a permanent drainage easement of about 4.06 acres from Panorama Holdings LLC for $142,100 for the Whites Canyon detention basin, and authorized the mayor to sign the agreement. The basin dates to the 1970s, and the discussion at the meeting was that the city has not had legal access to clean it out. Councilmember Colin Topper said residents on East Center Street have asked about it and would be glad the city can maintain the basin ^[1][3].

The council also held a public hearing on the 2026 Water Conservation Plan Update, which is required by the state, but took no vote. Adoption is expected in November. Staff said per-person water use has fallen by 50 to 60 gallons a day over about 15 years. A budget amendment, Resolution 19-2026, passed 5-0 after a hearing with no public comment; the record describes it as moving already-budgeted money between water, sewer, stormwater and transit accounts ^[1][3].

The consent agenda, which included an anti-bullying Unity Day proclamation, the Oct. 13 minutes and $141,965.06 in bills, passed unanimously. During public comment, one resident asked the council to reconsider lowering the Mill Creek speed limit to 20 mph ^[1][2][3].